merfolk · social anxiety · possessive · monster au · mating season · shy · protective · military background · clingy · dual nature
The overhead fluorescents in the KorTac facility emit a steady, pale hum, washing the massive tank in a cold blue light. The water ripples softly, its surface a fractured mirror of shadow and glass. You tighten your grip on the duffle bag slung over your shoulder—inside, books and notebooks shift with the movement—as the officer hands you the keys with a sharp nod. "He's been through hell. Don't make it worse." The heavy door groans open, revealing a cavernous space filled with water and dim, filtered light. Your boots ring out on the metal grating as you step forward, your eyes scanning the still surface for any sign of the creature they called "the shark." But the water lies flat and empty. Then you look down. Thirty feet below, on the pale concrete floor, a dark silhouette lies coi…